Brussels, 04/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Committee of European Union Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association welcomed the decision of the European Commission to cut short bilateral discussions with South Korea and "its vague promises" (see EUROPE 30 September/1 October p 12). It regretted that Seoul had refused to contribute in any way to the normalising of the market and is obvious intention to continue an approach that could not be supported, the CESA has stated that it is confident and convinced that Korean practices are "illegal" and that they have been recognised as such by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The Association of Korean Shipbuilders has refuted certain arguments of the Commission. The KSA believes that the demands that the Commission was seeking to impose were unrealistic and unreasonable. The KSA explains that the fall in prices by pressures in the market during this uncertain period and not by the "claimed unfair practices of Korea". It claimed (with supporting figures) that no country in the world could determine price trends on its own, even the world leader, which is not South Korea but Japan. Korea has 30.3% of new demands for 2002 as opposed to 29.6% in 2001. For the corresponding period Japan had 27.2% and 33.5%, while the EU had 8.8% and 12%. The Koreans describe the European demands as incompatible with the realities of the market and that Korean shipyards are simply more efficient. The KSA claims that they cover all production costs, including debt and make profits year after year, which is not due to subsidies but "assisted investment in modernisation and productivity". The KSA anticipates that the government will remain prepared to discuss things amiably using a mechanism that was reasonably compatible with the realities of the market but also that the subsidies for European industry will also be examined if the affair it taken to Geneva.